On Budget & Economy:
Send back the same people and we won't get out of this mess

North Carolina's three US Senate candidates agreed on one thing Saturday--Washington is broken. But in their first debate, the candidates clashed over who to blame and how to fix it.

In a year when voters across the country are frustrated with
government, Burr set the tone early. "Washington has to change," said Burr, adding that Congress, "is not held in high regard. We don't deserve to be."

Marshall, North Carolina's Secretary of State, said she could help fix that. "[Americans]
see one side saying 'no' and the other side running scared," she said. "If we keep sending back the same people who got us into this mess, we're not going to change anything."

Marshall described
Burr as beholden to special interests. Marshall, who repeatedly described herself as "a strong independent voice," called him one of the top recipients of "big-oil dollars."

On Energy & Oil:
Big Oil polluted the Gulf, & polluted the politics around it

Marshall described Burr as beholden to special interests. Marshall, who repeatedly described herself as "a strong independent voice," called him one of the top recipients of "big-oil dollars." Marshall said, "Big oil has not only polluted the gulf, it's
polluted the politics around it."

Burr has received $78,200 this election from political action committees representing oil and gas companies, according to the Center for Responsible Politics. Ten senators have received more.

On Budget & Economy:
Cuts plus appropriate investments

Burr and Marshall quickly diverged from each other Saturday on how the government should handle the nation's economy and debt. Burr repeatedly highlighted the nation's $13 trillion debt that's expected to continue growing. He warned that the
US could soon be compared to countries like Greece that are buckling under the weight of their obligations. "The answer is: Let's stop spending," Burr said. He acknowledged after the event that Republicans have been part of the problem.
He voted several times for Bush administration budgets that drastically increased the debt.

Marshall, however, said cuts alone wouldn't save the country's economy. "We've got to make appropriate investments--the same thing you would
do to make your business more profitable," Marshall said. "You can't cut your way into huge profitability."

Source: Sun-News coverage of 2010 N.C. Senate debate
Jun 26, 2010

On Corporations:
When capitalism takes over, we get economic collapse

The forum showed voters distinct messages among the candidates at a time when Americans are grappling with questions about the role of government and regulation following an economic collapse.

Marshall pointed to stronger regulation, saying the
mentality on Capitol Hill has been that Wall Street will heal itself and that market forces will take care of things. She said that regulators need more funding, and that businesses have had too cozy of a relationship with the government officials that
oversee them. "We've seen what happens when capitalism takes over," said Marshall, a regulator herself as NC's secretary of state.

Burr said government shouldn't be playing a bigger role with a stronger hand but should focus on regulating the products
that were overlooked--such as the complex derivatives blamed in the nation's economic collapse--and to make sure the existing regulators are doing their jobs.

Source: Sun-News coverage of 2010 N.C. Senate debate
Jun 26, 2010

On Energy & Oil:
Opposes drilling off coast due to disastrous risks

The candidates had differences on offshore oil drilling. Marshall said lawmakers like Burr had allowed deepwater drilling despite the "disastrous" risks that are now apparent. The well gushing into the Gulf is a deepwater well. Marshall said she opposes
drilling off North Carolina's coast.

Burr said oil companies had been forced to go into the riskier territory because they were "chased" away from land drilling and shallow water drilling. He said officials need to ensure that deepwater drilling is saf
before quickly allowing it to continue. President Obama's administration had imposed a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but a federal judge struck it down. The government is appealing that decision.

But ending such drilling entirely, Burr said, would lead to economic disaster."You'll have no economic growth," he said. "You'll have no job expansion. You'll have a contraction like you've never dreamed of."

Source: Sun-News coverage of 2010 N.C. Senate debate
Jun 26, 2010

On Crime:
Satisfied with the current standstill on death penalty

Marshall said she's satisfied with the current standstill in NC state government over the death penalty. A de facto death penalty moratorium has been in place for 3 years while legal challenges have been pending over how executions are carried out.

"We're not even ready to think about" carrying out death sentences, Marshall said, pointing to past allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and eyewitnesses to crimes naming the wrong suspects.

Source: 2010 NC Senate primary debate, ABC/AP coverage
Apr 18, 2010

On Immigration:
Don't send most illegal immigrants back

The candidates agree on supporting immigration rules that don't send most illegal immigrants across the border.

Source: 2010 NC Senate primary debate, ABC/AP coverage
Apr 18, 2010

On Immigration:
Deport criminal immigrants, but don't send back others

The candidates agree on supporting immigration rules that don't send most illegal immigrants across the border. The prominent candidates, including Marshall, said they want
Congress to approve a comprehensive immigration reform package that would include strong border enforcement and a methodical way to resolve the status of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the country.
Marshall declined to say whether she believed creating a path to citizenship should be part of the comprehensive program but said immigrants deemed by judges as the worst criminals should
be deported. "We've got to have something that's workable," she said. "Something that's fair to them, fair to industry, fair to other people."